Christopher Newport University President William Kelly, Board of Visitors Rector Lindsey Carney Smith, and Dean of the College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences Nicole Guajardo offered their remarks at the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Luter Hall expansion project on Friday Sept. 15, 2023.
The ceremony marked the official start of construction on CNU’s new Integrated Science Center which will be attached to the Northwest of Luter Hall – home to the Luter School of Business.
“As Captains, we strive every day to improve the quality of lives of people around the world. The shovels and the hard hats are a humble symbol of progress towards that goal,” said Kelly, who called the start of construction a defining moment for the university, the surrounding community and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The new Integrated Science Center will be a space that offers new technologies and resources to CNU students.
“This space will foster a culture of entrepreneurship at CNU by devoting a space to connect and collaborate with a professional community,” said Guajardo.
The new center will include research laboratories, maker spaces, robotics and unmanned aircraft system labs and testing facilities and a biomechanics lab.
“You could say this is just a building, but it represents so much more,” said Smith. “A brighter future for our university, for our captains and for our world.”
Although CNU’s current juniors, seniors and graduate students will not be on campus to witness the completion of such a major construction project, Kelly noted that all are invited back “home” to see the new building when construction is completed.
“The students we educate on this campus and in this new building will be the innovators and the discoverers who will go out and change lives,” said Kelly.
